1. Field of the Invention
Various supporting systems have utilized for supporting fragile articles such as glass panels, glass for windows, and other items in a safe manner to prevent damage or breakage thereof. Such fragile articles are often of such a configuration that they are stackable and, as such, are shipped in groups often placed vertically on their edges. The different types of apparatus specifically designed for supporting these fragile articles must be engineered to be particularly structurally strong when used for shipping thereof. Normally, these articles are shipped in stacked groupings while positioned on edge and positioned upon a generally horizontally extending substrate such as a pallet or the like and, as such, can easily be broken or damaged due during the normal rough handling commonly associated with handling thereof during shipping.
The present invention provides a unique improvement in the apparatus used heretofore for supporting such fragile panels or articles for safely during shipment thereof. Contact of the fragile articles with the metallic fasteners used in mounting of the supporting system can seriously damage or break the articles. Even the slightest contact of a glass article or sheet with an embedded metallic fastener such as a staple or screw can cause breakage or start a crack in one or more of the fragile articles. However, with the supporting system set forth herein, these metallic securement devices such as staples which hold the system to the substrate therebelow can maintained spatially distant from the fragile articles mounted upon the support members by defining a safety zone extending therebetween. This separation or safety zone is defined by the driving of the securing staples through a lower lip or ledge defined as the upper securement surface which is positioned substantially lower than the support plane of the upper supporting surface of the support member which receives the fragile articles positioned thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Other patents which have been granted for the purpose of supporting and protecting of glass panels, or glass sheets or other breakable items during shipment include U.S. Pat. No. 2,086,688 patented Jul. 13, 1937 to G. C. Woodruff on a “Shipping Container” and assigned to The L.C. L. Corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,337,468 patented Dec. 21, 1943 to W. P. Hilger on a “Shipping Container For Breakable Sheets” and assigned to B. H. Flanagan and M. H. O'Link; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,556,529 patented Jun. 12, 1951 to J. A. Farrell on a “Shipping Carton For Glass” and assigned to Cadillac Products, Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,050 patented Jan. 20, 1953 to J. M. Freiberg on a “Folding Shipping Frame For Glass” and assigned to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,665,804 patented Jan. 12, 1954 to M. C. Koester on a “Shipping Container For Glass Sheets” and assigned to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,705 patented Nov. 30, 1954 to H. O. Powers et al on a “Pallet Case” and assigned to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,626 patented Feb. 14, 1956 to M. C. Koester et al on a “Shipping Container For Glass Sheets” and assigned to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,738,058 patented Mar. 13, 1956 to R. C. Hansen et al on a “Pallet Case” and assigned to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,741,362 patented Apr. 10, 1956 to S. E. Cortright on a “Shipping Container For Glass” and assigned to General Motors Corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,873,024 patented Feb. 10, 1959 to M. C. Koester on a “Shipping Container For Glass Sheets” and assigned to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,845 patented Nov. 20, 1962 to W. J. Maxwell on a “Shipping Container” and assigned to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,564 patented Nov. 9, 1965 to H. O. Wolfe, Jr. et al on a “Shipping Container” and assigned to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,786 patented Jun. 25, 1968 to E. J. Lidgard on a “Packaging For Frangible Sheets” and assigned to Flotepak Corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,124 patented Dec. 3, 1968 to E. J. Lidgard on a “Container For Sheetlike Material” and assigned to Flotepak Corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,358 patented Jan. 9, 1973 to B. Andrews et al on “Packages Of Glass In Sheet Form” and assigned to Pilkington Brothers Limited; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,660 patented Feb. 17, 1976 to R. J. Moehring on “Glass Sheet Shipping Packages” and assigned to Libbey-Owens-Ford Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,978 patented to R. J. Thomaswick on Feb. 24, 1976 on a “Flat Glass Shipping Container” and assigned to PPG Industries, Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,435 patented Mar. 29, 1977 to J. R. Rowley et al on a “Collapsible Rack For Shipping And/Or Storing Glass Sheets” and assigned to PPG Industries, Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,815 patented Jun. 6, 1978 to J. R. Rowley et al on a “Method Of Loading Glass Sheets On A Collapsible Rack For Storing Or Shipping” and assigned to PPG Industries, Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,043 patented Sep. 30, 1980 to J. P. Lastik on “Securing Pads For Sheet Shipping Containers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,990 patented Sep. 8, 1981 to J. F. Kurick on “Glass Sheet Shipping Packages” and assigned to Libbey-Owens-Ford Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,193 patented Jan. 9, 1990 to G. Thomas on an “Expanded Plastic Packaging System For Substantially Planar Objects”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,030 patented Feb. 4, 1992 to T. Segawa et al on a “Method Of Transferring And Storing Glass Sheets And Tray Used In Method” and assigned to Nippon Sheet Glass, Co., Ltd.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,448 patented Dec. 29, 1992 to V. I. Flaig on a “Container For Shipping And Stacking Sheets Of Glass” and assigned to Guardian Industries Corp.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,590 patented May 27, 1997 to T. E. Pearson et al on a “Method And System For Loading Panels Into Shipping containers At A Work Station And End Effector For Use Therein” and assigned to Ford Motor Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,691 patented Oct. 21, 1997 to M. A. Amado-Aguilar et al on a “Corner Element And A Packing System For The Transportation Of Glass Sheet Packages” and assigned to Vidrio Plano, S. A. De C. V.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,790 patented Mar. 14, 2000 to B. F. Polando on a “Shipping Skid”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,690 patented Jun. 20, 2000 to T. S. Hemmerly on a “Fastener Free Container” and assigned to Concept Packaging Group; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,206 patented Aug. 15, 2000 to T. E. Pride on “Packaging For Panels, E.G. Glass Panels” and assigned to Cardinal IG Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,589 patented Dec. 12, 2000 to J. A. Smith et al on “Boxes With Internal Resilient Elements” and assigned to Motion Design, Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,566 patented Oct. 23, 2001 to M. J. Pigott et al on a “Container For Fragile Articles” and assigned to Nucon Corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,271 patented Jul. 9, 2002 to M. J. Pigott et al on a “Drop Box Container” and assigned to Nucon Corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,153 patented Nov. 12, 2002 to R. C. King on a “Package For Framed And Unframed Single Mirrors”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,354 patented Nov. 12, 2002 to M. Eyal on a “System And Method For Packing And Transporting Sheet Materials”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,120 patented Mar. 4, 2003 to F. Okamoto on “Containers For Packaging Glass Substrates” and assigned to Corning Incorporated; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,607 patented Mar. 25, 2003 to P. Knoll et al on a “Transportable Rack” and assigned to Schneider National Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,881 patented Apr. 1, 2003 to S. L. Underbrink et al on a “Pallet Having A Pallet Deck With A Movable Portion And An Associated Method” and assigned to The Boeing Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,605 patented Jul. 8, 2003 to V. W. Volkert et al on a “Planar Article Rack Having Closeable Holding Members” and assigned to Cardinal CG Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,988 patented Jul. 15, 2003 to P. Trpkovski on “Material Handling For The Insulating Glass Industry” and assigned to Cardinal Glass Industries, Inc.